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Qua Kinh thánh chúng ta có đầy đủ các ví dụ về cách các thiên thần đóng vai trò là sứ giả và người bảo vệ con người chúng ta. Khi ông Phêrô bị xích trong tù và bị canh giữ cẩn mật, thiên thần đã hiện ra đánh thức ông ta vào nửa đêm, tháo xiềng xích và đưa ông ra khỏi nhà tù một cách an toàn, vượt qua nhiều trạm lính canh và qua những cánh cổng khóa chặt. Khi ông Phêrô nhận ra mình không nằm mơ, ông đã thốt lên: "Bây giờ tôi đã tin chắc rằng Chúa đã sai thiên sứ của Ngài đến và giải cứu tôi" (Công vụ 12:11). Khi Đaniel bị ném vào hang của bầy sư tử đói, thiên thần đã bảo vệ ông khỏi bị các con sư tử đói hãm hại (Đaniel 6:22).
Các thiên thần sa ngã (Jude 6; 2 Phêrô 2: 4; Khải huyền 12: 9), được mô tả trong Kinh thánh là ác thần hoặc là ma quỷ (Mk 5:13; Mat 25:41), chúng tìm kiếm cám dỗ và hủy diệt linh hồn của chúng ta (1 Phêrô 5: 8) . Nếu chúng không thể thuyết phục được chúng ta từ bỏ đức tin và lòng trung thành của chúng ta đối với Đức Kitô, thì chúng sẽ cố gắng cám dỗ chúng ta không sống theo ý muốn của Thiên Chúa bằng cách đánh lạc hướng chúng ta bằng những thứ vật chất làm hoa mắt thịt con người chúng ta và khiến chúng ta thờ ơ với những điều răn của Thiên Chúa.
Scripture is full of examples of how the angels serve as messengers and protectors. When Peter was chained in prison and kept under guard, an angel woke him in middle of the night, released his chains, and brought him safely out of prison, past several guards and through locked gates. When Peter realized he wasn't dreaming, he exclaimed: "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me" (Acts 12:11). When Daniel was thrown into a den of hungry lions, an angel protected him from harm (Daniel 6:22).
God gives us the help of his angelic hosts and he gives us spiritual weapons, the shield of faith and the breastplate of righteousness (see Ephesians 6:1-11), to resist the devil and his lies. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we, too, join with the angelic choirs of heaven in singing the praises of God. Do you thank the Lord for his guidance and protection?
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” Matthew 18:10
The reality of angels is fascinating to most people, especially to children. The Guardian Angels, in particular, are often pictured in sacred art as walking hand-in-hand with children. And though this is true, they also walk hand-in-hand with each one of us throughout our lives. This is their sacred duty given to them by God. In quoting Saint Basil, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the existence of Guardian Angels by saying: “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. ‘Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life’” (#336).
Imagine, in an earthly sense, that you had a personal bodyguard to look after you day and night throughout your life. Perhaps this evokes two different sentiments. First, it would most certainly comfort you when there is imminent danger around. You would know you are not alone and that you would be kept safe from physical harm. Another sentiment it may invoke is that of a loss of personal privacy. If someone were watching over you, day and night, you would always be aware of their watchful eye. Everything you said and did would be noticed. For some, this may not always be welcome. Why? Because this means they see all you do, including your sin. Fear of judgment, the loss of personal privacy and the like may be difficult to accept.
But now imagine that this “bodyguard” is one who offers no judgment, acts with perfect love for you, keeps confidentiality with perfection and cares only for your well-being. Though it may be hard to imagine that such a person could exist, that person does exist in the person of your guardian angel.
Your guardian angel is real, has a keen and powerful intellect, has a will perfectly united with the will of God, and was created for the single purpose of protecting you and leading you into the fulfillment of God’s will. When you sin and stray, your guardian angel’s only concern is to guide you back to God. When you are fearful or in trouble, your guardian angel’s only care is to protect you and fill you with God’s peace and courage. And though God could have provided you with all of these graces directly, without the mediation of an angel, He chose to do so through the mediation of your personal guardian angel. Only in Heaven will we fully understand the profound depth of love, protection, and care given to us by these angelic beings.
Reflect, today, upon the intimate knowledge that your guardian angel has of you. As you ponder this reality, rejoice that someone knows you so well and loves you with a perfect love. This angel of yours not only loves you perfectly but also has been entrusted with great power from God to protect you and shepherd you to the fulfillment of your life mission. Prayerfully acknowledge the great gift that your guardian angel is to you and entrust yourself more fully to this angelic mediation.
Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. Guardian angel, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord, I know that, as today’s psalm says, seeking you is the path to reviving my heart: “… you who seek God, may your hearts revive!” I believe that you are here present with me now, eagerly and lovingly wanting to revive my heart, to fill me with courage, to nourish the good desires that you planted within me long ago. I truly seek you, Lord. I seek to know you better, so that I can love you better, so that I can follow you better. Revive my heart, O Lord!
Some Spiritual Allies: Angels are purely spiritual beings. They can influence the material world and interact with it, but they are not material beings. This purely spiritual nature is symbolically represented in art by depicting them with wings. But since they are immaterial, popular culture in our secularized world doesn’t pay angels much mind. They can’t be studied in a laboratory. For a materialistic culture like ours, that makes them irrelevant, if not nonexistent. And yet, today Jesus speaks explicitly about angels as playing a constant and central role in our lives. Each of us has at least one guardian angel who watches over us even while staying always in God the Father’s presence. All around us these unseen spiritual allies work mysteriously but tirelessly to protect and guide us as we make our way through life’s difficulties and temptations. They are true persons united to us through their fidelity to God, committed to serving Christ’s Kingdom and glorifying God by helping us along our Christian journey. Today of all days we should thank God for the gift of our guardian angels, and we should thank our guardian angels for being faithful to God’s love instead of joining the devil and his fallen angels in their fruitless rebellion against the Lord.
“Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)
These are some pretty forbidding words from Jesus, especially for those of us whose childhood years are far behind us! But the good news is that we don’t have to become childlike all by ourselves. Jesus is here to help us. Let’s begin by thinking for a moment about what Jesus meant when he urged us to become childlike.
Children tend to be secure little people. Especially in the tightly knit communities of first-century Palestine, the family unit was both broad and deep. A child knew almost reflexively that his parents would love him and take care of him. He tended to be very secure because he was growing up in a stable environment. Of course, life wasn’t always easy. Poverty and disaster were still possibilities. But whatever might happen, he knew he wouldn’t have to face it alone. Even if his parents were to die or desert him, he had an entire network of aunts, uncles, cousins, and neighbors to help him.
We can have that same kind of security. We have a Father in heaven who is always looking out for us. We are part of a tightly knit community that includes our brothers and sisters in the Church as well as the saints and angels in heaven. It also includes our guardian angel. Just as our earthly family can’t always shield us from hardship, neither can this heavenly being. But loyal family members that they are, our angels never leave our side. Today in your prayer, try surrendering to your father and his angels one or two of the worries that we carry around with US: anxieties about things outside of our control or too far into the future for us to do anything about. And remember: we are not alone! Ask the Holy Spirit to write this truth our heart every morning. Then throughout the day, remind ourselves that we belong to a large, warm, and welcoming community of faith.
As we do, we will find ourselves acting even more like the child of God we really are. “Let’s ask our Lord Jesus to give us the grace to rely on Him today. Ask his father to help us become like a child again.”
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